Rack preference? Need some help!

I'm looking for a 24U Server Depth enclosure – thoughts? I've purchased AV racks before, but never a network rack. This will be my first real rack and server of my own. The rack will be located in the office (my office) of a retail store and house a server/workstation/networking equipment/etc running Milestone VMS along with Axis IP POE Cameras and our POS system, Retail Pro...no dedicated server room, no dedicated cooling (aside from our space's Central Air) , no noise isolation...at least until we build out a small server room at some time in Q2 of this year. Our space does run pretty cold which should help out a bit (average ambient temperature is between 64º & 70º). I know it will be hot, I know it will be loud.

I was originally looking at BlackBox's Elite Cabinets, but it's hard to justify the price tag of $2,000+ for a unit with doors, a top, and sides when there are plenty of other brands with price tags that are at least $1,000 less and include the same...that's an extra $1,000 to allocate towards a new Dell R740xd and/or enterprise HDD's. The rack will house Ubiquiti Unifi Gateway Pro POE switch, Cloud Key G2, a Dell 3930 Workstation (1U), a Dell R740xd (2U), patch panels, UPS and ZeroU PDU. The remainder of RU's will be shelves, drawers, and blanking panels. I figure since the rack won't be top to bottom servers and workstations, that this will help with the noise/heat as well.

Do any of you have any experience with Tripp Lite's 24U/25U units or the 24U APC SX? Those are currently what I am going between (although I am tempted to just go with BlackBox because how often am I going to be purchasing a new rack?), but am open to suggestions, guidance, reviews, or reasons to justify purchasing a BlackBox enclosure.

Looking to stay at 24" in width...depth is more flexible as long as it is mid to server depth (33" to 42"). M6 Rails are a requirement. Would love to have the ability to upgrade panels, add panels with fans or add cable more organization if needed down the line (another thing that is great about BlackBox...they offer tons of accessories for their Elite Racks).

Will surely be back for more guidance/advice as I begin to run cable and populate whichever rack I end up with!

I know. I’m screwed. Have no where else to put it until the server closet is built. In all fairness, our space does run fairly cold. The store/office does have central air...16,000 BTU (ballpark) Unit and our entire space is only 900 SQFT (approximately).

What do you mean "our data"? The data will always be passing through networks you don't trust, that's what encryption is for. As far as physical security, all of the major cloud providers run data centers that are PCI/HIPAA/SSAE compliant.

'Our data' as in data that is housed on privately owned and operated servers. Not so much of a physical security issue...it's more of a we don't want our data housed in a remote location that we have no control over, type issue. Would rather take well encrypted data and back that up in the cloud. I know AWS says that you own all your data, etc etc, however I tend to be more on the skeptical side when it comes to this kind of stuff. It makes our corporate and 'industry' clients more comfortable with us having their credit cards/sensitive information/aliases on file. I know that data is always passed from network to network, however in this case, ours rarely will. The server will be housed in the office of our store on the behind the same firewall and encrypted & layered network as our POS and credit card terminals.

I don't know why anyone wouldn't use the cloud, I mean AWS and Azure and Google are all certified, it's not like they get hacked, they have the best security people in the world...../s. I can't believe I wrote that but that is the line of bullshit you hear all the time. Your data is usually the most valuable thing about a company and people willingly hand their most valuable asset over to companies that are routinely hacked and don't seem to care that they are hacked. I'd much rather keep my data on my site under my control. I have a lot smaller target on my back than AWS and my scope of protection is much smaller -I only have to worry about myself.

see, you get it. it's almost like a bank account...yeah, it's 'your money' and 'your account', but if the bank want's to close your account for ANY reason...they can...and will...your money is not in your control even if you think it is. If the bank's servers have a security breach, or like the fire in Wells Fargo's data farm last week, your money is held hostage and inaccessible. Unfortunately, it's kinda hard to do without a bank account.

i'd rather be able to physically monitor my data, the HDD's and server that it is all housed on, etc.

Just saying, but this is a LOT like exercise equipment. I got my 3/4 rack for free and gave it away. IMHO, you don't need to buy a "home" rack. Your neighbor would probably pay you to take his away. I'd ask around, put up a request at the office, etc...

You honestly have no tech friends or acquaintances? Try your church bulletin board. I cannot over emphasize how much "used" rack gear is out there. If you just have to "pay", check consignment dealers.

Granted, when we (business) put up new racks, we buy "new". Just expect to pay thousands (e.g. Chatsworth)

Our office is not whisper quiet, but the windows do make the exterior ambient noises much more prevalent. That, in addition to music playing from the front, the noise from the AC (when it's running), and all of the employees moving around/working, make it a rather lively office environment in terms of how it sounds. Eventually, once the rack is in it's dedicated room, sound/heat wont be much of an issue at all.

Will definitely look into swapping out the fans of the Server & Workstation I'll be ordering this week.

At one point I was even thinking about getting my hands on some very thin sound deadening material and lining panels of the rack...but that would probably make the whole temperature aspect a bit more of an issue. If I could find a way to move my budget around, I would obviously be getting a more sound proof unit with fans built in, but they are EXPENSIVE. For a while I was even looking at this rack, but was worried that the plexi door, although useful for sound reduction, would make air flow more difficult.

The split mesh rear doors is something I really like...something that is keeping me from pulling the trigger on a Tripp Lite. I have some experience with the full size APC units as that's what is used in the data room of the post production company I work for, but can't seem to find anyone with recommendations for a reliable 24U.

Almost bought an HP rack off ebay. 42U for like $300. Wasn't in bad shape at all, just knew it would be pointless to not have any use for half of the rack.

Already looked for second hand on Craigslist. All I could find was one APC unit from what looked like the early 2000's...and it was in Bakersfield (if you know where or what Bakersfield is, you'll get it).

Retail software could go cloud, but Milestone cannot. Even if Milestone could be deployed cloud, the cost of the storage alone on a monthly basis would be more expensive than buying a brand new server. 4MP footage stored for a minimum of a month, sometimes 24/7 (depending on motion at night)...that's a whole lot of TB's.